


I Could Bring Paradise

by brokendrums



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-16
Updated: 2013-01-16
Packaged: 2017-11-25 18:03:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/641539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brokendrums/pseuds/brokendrums
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Niall has a crush and it develops into something more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Could Bring Paradise

**Author's Note:**

> This was a distraction from revising for my exams (which I've probably failed) and wouldn't leave my head until I had it all written down. Idek what it's supposed to be. The ending is obviously canonically different. 
> 
> Title from Crystalised by the xx but partly inspired by some of the recent headlines in the papers about Simon and his yacht. I really want his yacht.

It all starts with an innocent crush. 

And Niall can’t really be blamed because it’s Simon _fucking_ Cowell and Niall’s just in awe of him from the moment he meets him. He’s tall and handsome and everything that Niall’s not really used to seeing in the flesh. He’s seen him on the telly plenty of times and he’s always got that half flirty smirk on his face that makes Niall’s knees shake in ways the boys and girls in his class back home just don’t. He’s reclined behind that long desk and miles away really but Niall can’t help the blush working up his neck and the butterflies in his stomach when he raises the mic to his mouth to introduce himself. 

He supposes he should be concentrating on the rest of the panel really and how Katy Perry is calling him cute but he just can’t help flicking his eyes over at Simon to see his reaction instead. 

He’s smiling, corners of his mouth pulled up and trying to look relaxed in his chair. Niall’s heart nearly stops when he says yes, his head’s going a mile a minute and when he glances back over to him, belly churning as he takes in that half smile, he vows to himself that he’ll never let him down. 

From there it initially doesn’t go very far, he sees Simon a few more times and feels something liquidy hot settle in his belly every time. He watches interviews with him and compilations on Youtube of his best moments on Pop Idol until he can recite his words back to the screen and his face is embossed on the back of his eyelids. He pops into his head fleetingly just before he goes to sleep and imagines how that smirk would feel against his own lips when he wanks in the morning. 

When he starts to see him more, it only gets worse. Fleeting thoughts grow into long winded scenarios where Simon comes to save the day and kisses him up against a wall in his swanky office. His favourite part of the week is when Simon comes to hear them sing and as all the other groups get voted off one by one, Niall revels in the extra time Simon spends with them and how on Sunday, he’ll tug Niall in close on stage and ground him with a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

Niall likes to think that he’s wore him down. Just by the sheer amount of time they have together his serious expressions and business talk soon dissipates into small, indulgent smiles that look fond and send Niall’s heart racing. But Niall’s not stupid, he’s had crushes on people he shouldn’t before - his best friend back home, his cousin from Kerry who he had never met before that summer three years ago and Mr. O’Donnell who taught him French in first year. He knows that his little daydreams, lovely as they are, shouldn’t, and wouldn't really happen in reality. 

It all changes in the same afternoon.

“I’m staging an intervention,” Harry announces to him once he’s flushed the toilet and opened the door. Harry’s standing very close to him, breathing out of his nose in a way that would look intimidating if it wasn’t _Harry._

“What?” Niall asks and lets Harry shove him back into the bathroom. The house is quiet, the rest of the other contestants already in the cars in the driveway and Niall knows that they’re going to make them late. “Can’t we walk and talk?” 

“No,” Harry shakes his head, pushing at him to sit on the edge of the bath before looking down at him sternly. Niall grins at him because Harry can’t do stern very well and he looks like he’s going to tell off a kitten. 

“What is it Harry?” Niall asks with a sigh. He can feel his phone start to buzz in his pocket and he knows it’s probably Liam complaining that they’re wasting valuable practise time. It’s coming up to the end of the competition and they’re so close to the final they can taste it so most of the boys don’t want to give up now. 

“Whatever - “ he breaks off and gives Niall a reproachful look which makes Niall suddenly feel nervous. 

“Harry, what is it?” Niall asks gently and reaches out to touch his arm. Harry looks down at it with wide eyes but manages to give him a soft smile, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth for a moment. 

“Are you and Simon having some sort of weird love affair?” he blurts out and Niall’s heart starts to thud in his chest. Harry’s looking at him with a critical look on his face and Niall can’t really breathe properly.

“What?” Niall asks and his voice sounds sort of hollow. Harry’s eyes just narrow. 

“You _are_ ,” he mutters to himself and takes a step back to take a breath. Niall feels sort of sick, and light headed but most of all just really confused because what the fuck?

“I’m not,” Niall mutters. “Why do you think that?” 

Harry looks at him for a long moment and Niall knows he’s trying to figure out if he’s lying or not. “You go all dopey around him and get this look on your face.” 

Niall flushes because he was under the impression he was being subtle, or at least masking it with being ridiculous around everyone else he’s met too. 

“And you’re obviously his favourite so it was just something I started thinking about - Niall are you alright?” 

Niall can hear his own breathing and Harry looks concerned for a moment before the door swings open and Louis is standing there.

“Alright boys? Sorry to interrupt this heart to heart but you know, we have actual work to be doing elsewhere.” 

Niall gapes at him and worries momentarily how much he’s heard. Harry’s shoulders fall for a moment before he grins back at Louis. 

“Sorry sorry,” he apologises but doesn’t sound very sorry at all. “Let’s go, I’m sure Liam’s in the middle of a panic attack.” 

“You have no idea, I‘ve been sent to look for a paper bag too.” Louis huffs and pulls an arm around Harry’s neck to drag him out of the bathroom and calling over his shoulder, “let’s go Niall.” 

Niall pulls himself together and takes a deep breath, trailing after them to the car and trying to figure out what gave him away. He supposes he could’ve gone a bit heart eyed around Simon but he does that around Louis too so he doesn’t know what makes this different. 

It doesn’t get much better when they arrive at the studio because Simon’s already there and usually this would make him pleased but he can hardly think straight with the pressure of Harry’s eyes on his back. He tries to school his face into a blank expression but Simon is smiling at him and asking how the week’s been going and what he thinks of the song and if he’s excited for the show tonight and the smile just slides right back onto his face. 

Simon greets him with a hug and Niall’s acutely aware of how he doesn’t hug anyone else. Over his shoulder he can see how Harry’s eyebrows raise and Liam’s knit together before he’s preoccupied with Simon’s hand as it settles on the base of Niall’s spine, a warm weight that makes Niall want to nuzzle his face into Simon’s neck so he can mouth at the skin there. They pull away and Simon’s looking at him with that fond smile that seems reserved for only Niall, making all of Niall’s nerves instantly melt away and he suddenly gets what Harry’s on about - Simon is looking at him with just as many hearts in his eyes as Niall has for him. 

Niall has never wanted to kiss someone harder in his life. He can’t though, there’s piles of people around and Simon is already stepping back to turn to the other lads. Niall wonders if he’s imagining the glint in his eye but Harry’s eyebrows are nearly hidden by his hair so he supposes he’s not. 

It makes it feel a bit more real and a lot more scary. Before, it had been all in his head and split seconds of bubbles in his stomach when his hand brushed Simon’s or when he told him he sang his line well but now it was more serious and he couldn’t help but feel self conscious under his gaze. 

“I’ll see you later then,” Simon smiles at them all in turn but his eyes linger on Niall’s face. Niall smiles back, feeling the back of his neck grow hot and how Harry inches closer to him. “Good luck.” 

Niall smiles in return and tries not to preen under the thought that his well wishes were solely for him. 

*

They don’t win and Niall’s devastated for a moment. Simon looks over at him with a careful expression and Niall suddenly feels ten times worse because they’ve let him down. They’ve been ushered off stage, Dermot staying on to talk to Rebecca and Matt while the boys try to figure out where their heads are at. There’s a flurry of movement as stage hands and crew all offer their condolences and family members push through the side stage door. Niall finds himself sort of hovering about, waiting for Simon to be finished his conversation with Zayn’s mum so he can slip over and talk to him too. 

“It’s ok,” he whispers into his ear when Niall gets time to hug him. Harry’s sniffling into Zayn’s shoulder to his right and he has no idea where the other two are, engulfed by their huge group of family no doubt. “We’ll have this sorted in the morning.” 

“Really?” Niall can’t help but choke out into Simon‘s suit jacket. He’s not crying yet but his throat feels tight and he knows if he glances over at Harry he’ll breakdown too. Simon offers him a reassuring smile, wrapping a palm around the nape of his neck and squeezing just a gentle pressure there before stepping back because there’s still cameras floating about and from the corner of his eye Niall can see his mum make his way over to him. 

“Trust me,” he smiles at him, eyes twinkling as he takes in Niall’s frown and pout. He turns at the last moment to speak to Harry just as Niall’s mum appears at his elbow. 

“Are you alright love?” she asks quietly and pulls him down into a hug.

“Yeah,” he finds himself muttering into her cardigan. “It’ll all be better in the morning.” 

*

And it is. 

Niall walks out of Simon’s office with a record deal and it’s hardly past ten in the morning. The boys are all jumping about and celebrating, hugging each other tightly and worming their way into cuddle under each others arms but Niall finds himself standing up from the sofa and walking over to Simon behind his desk. 

“Thank you,” he tells him quietly, just loud enough over the din of the racket the boys are making. Simon beams up at him, leaning back in his chair to see him properly as Niall hovers around the edge of his desk. 

He isn’t sure what takes over him but he leans down and brushes his lips across his cheek. The boys are laughing in the background so they don’t really pay too much attention. Niall pulls back an inch, eyes flicking up to meet Simon’s wide ones. He doesn’t seem upset or outraged, just mildly shocked. His hands are gripped on the arms of his chair and he looks good in his crisp white shirt. Niall can smell his aftershave from here and it’s that expensive kind that doesn’t really even smell of anything but Niall instantly loves it. He brushes his lips over his skin again, catching the corner of his mouth so Simon will know that it’s deliberate before he steps back, grinning as his stunned expression melts into laughter.

“You’re welcome,” Simon grins at him, reaching forward to nudge a knuckle into the side of his hand. It’s hidden behind his desk so Niall, feeling daring, links their fingers for a brief second before standing up straight and going to join the group hug the rest of them are still in. 

And then he doesn’t see him for months. 

Niall goes back home and sinks back into his old life for Christmas. He’s able to push him from his mind as he visits friends and family but it's pointless because a card arrives for him a few days before the twenty fifth and it’s signed simply, _To Niall, from Simon_. There’s a blot under his name, a thick smudge of black ink like the nib had been held there for a long time before a hastily scrawled _x_. Niall stares at it for a long time, the envelope dropping out of his hand onto the run in the front hall before he walks straight up to his room to hide the card. 

For a wild moment he thinks it’s a joke and wonders if any of the other boys got a card too but deep down he doesn’t really want to know, so instead he shoves it under his pillow and believes with all his heart that it is from him. If it is a prank from the boys he'll just pretend it got lost in the pose 

He has Simon’s number in his phone (and half memorised in his head) so he sends him a message back that plainly wishes him a Merry Christmas. He doesn’t get a message in return but it doesn’t matter because when he goes to bed that night, warm from dinner and beer the jagged edge jabs at his neck and he can’t help grin into his pillow before he falls asleep.

It’s literally months before he hears from him again. It’s not that he’s forgotten about him, just that Niall’s life is suddenly thrust into the spotlight and he never seems to get a minute peace, never mind long enough to pine about the man who’s thirty years older than him and has kissed a grand total of two times. 

He appears one day though, just at the beginning of September when they’ve all but released their first single and everything’s just beginning to get mad. They’re at the studio, rehearsing the run through for a performance on a new Saturday night TV show when the door opens and Simon’s head peeks in. 

None of the other boys are there, Liam’s running through his vocals with Harry in the back room, Louis is sleeping on the sofa in the dressing room and they’re all pretending that Zayn isn’t out back having a smoke and hiding from some overzealous fans. 

“Hi,” Niall breathes out in a rush and takes a step toward him. Simon glances around the room before stepping in and closing the door behind him. It closes with a click that Niall can hear at the other side of the room and it makes his mouth go dry. He hasn’t seen in him in ages except for a few newspaper headlines and when a video pops up on the side of his Youtube page. “What are you doing here?” 

“Just checking in,” Simon smiles at him, stepping forward and he’s suddenly in Niall’s space. Niall can hardly breathe and he wants desperately to pinch himself because this cannot be happening. “I had a few days before I go back to LA and wanted to see for myself how you’re getting on.” 

Niall swallows and looks up at him. He looks softer up close, the crinkles around his eyes deepening as his smile widens and the curve of his mouth as it falls open. 

“And maybe - “ Simon pauses because Niall’s staring at him and his fingers are half risen, poised over Simon’s collarbone. Niall’s a few inches taller now and it’s amazing how much of a difference it makes. “To see you.” 

Niall would argue that it was Simon who kissed him first but at that moment in time he doesn’t care. He kisses him hesitantly at first until Simon grip a handful of his t-shirt and pulls him into him. He goes easily, sinking into him and wrapping an arm around his waist. He gets the other one tangled in Simon’s hair and is ridiculously pleased he doesn’t tell him off for it. 

“I shouldn’t be doing this,” Simon tells him when they break apart. Niall’s panting against him, bottom lip still touching Simon’s. His head is swimming, only focused on the feel of Simon’s slippery lips and hot how his palm is on his back. 

“Who cares,” Niall gasps, pushing forward to kiss him again. Simon groans into it, pulling him close until they’re pressed hip to hip and chest to chest. He gets a hand into the back of his coat, slipping his fingertips under his shirt and just into his belt. Simon moans again, hitching his hips forward and clutching him tighter. 

Niall feels sort of dazed when he pulls back, gasping in more air and looking at Simon in front of him. He looks a bit debauched, his hair is sticking up in tufts and his lips are red and glossy. Niall knows he looks the same or even worse but there’s footsteps and laughter in the corridor outside the door and Niall knows they can’t really continue on without getting caught. 

Simon must realise too because he takes a step back, straightening his tie with one hand and patting his hair with the other. Niall smiles shyly at him, suddenly very nervous as he ruffles his own hair and shrugs the shirt around his shoulders so it doesn’t look so rumpled. 

He’s just opening his mouth to ask Simon how long he’s in London for when the door burst open and Simon suddenly has an armful of an excited Harry. Simon laughs, hugging him back but catching Niall’s eye over his shoulder and he knows they’ll get another chance to kiss each other senseless soon. 

*  
“I’m in London,” Simon tells him quietly over the phone late one afternoon. Niall’s just in from rehearsals and should probably just go to bed because they’re going on tour in a few days and he knows he’ll need all the sleep he can get. 

“Oh yeah?” Niall asks flopping down onto his new sofa and staring at the empty shelves on the wall because he hasn’t had the time to unpack properly yet. Him and Simon have developed into a tentative _thing_. Niall’s hesitant to call it a relationship because so far no one knows about them and it’s comprised of a few hastily hand jobs in the loo of the studio they rehearse in and a few instances of phone sex that Niall’s still not sure were supposed to be phone sex while Simon’s been in LA for the past few months. Sometimes they chat, mostly about silly things and what Simon’s up to in America but other times they don’t, just lying listening to each other breath as they both get ready to fall asleep. 

“Yeah,” Simon murmurs and Niall can hear the smile in his voice. “I was thinking we could go for dinner.” 

“Go for dinner?” Niall repeats because he’s not sure they could do that without getting caught. If anything he’s learnt over the past few weeks is that very little of his life is private any more. 

Simon chuckles for a moment before dropping his voice. “At mine, we can have dinner at mine.” 

“Dinner at yours.” Niall repeats with a growing grin and Simon laughs once more. They’re silent for a moment and Niall smiles up at his empty ceiling. “Of course, I’ll be there in an hour.” 

“Great,” Simon tells him and his voice goes back to the more serious tone Niall’s used to. “I’ll see you later.” 

He’s hung up before Niall’s said goodbye but it makes Niall laugh instead of annoying him. He settles back into the cushions and shivers at the butterflies in his stomach because this all suddenly feels like a _date_

He doesn’t wear anything too fancy because he knows they aren’t going out anywhere but Niall wants to look nice so he finds a pair of decent jeans and a shirt that probably belongs to Zayn. Even that is overdressed because when the door swings open Simon’s standing there in a pair of soft sweat jogging bottoms and a t-shirt that looks like it’s been through the wash too many times. 

Niall can’t stop gaping at him because this is Simon Cowell and he’s not supposed to wear anything other than trousers up to his chest and the best shirt Prada can make. Simon laughs at his expression and tugs him into the front hall. He takes the wine that Niall had bought on the way over and pulls him into a warm hug. The t-shirt is soft under Niall’s fingers and he smells like a mix of talc and lemons. 

“You look nice,” Simon tells him quietly, breath ghosting along his ear because they haven’t pulled out of the hug yet. 

“So do you,” Niall grins into his shoulder because he does, all soft and strangely normal looking. He turns his head slightly to the side and catches his breath at the way Simon is looking at him. There’s heat behind his eyes and his mouth is pulled up in a small smile. Niall watches him for a few moments before deciding _fuck it_ and pressing in for a kiss. 

Simon kisses him back immediately, mouth slanting across his until he can suck his bottom lip into his mouth making Niall moan. His hand moves up to cradle his neck and angle his jaw higher while the other one goes to Niall’s spine, sneaking under Niall’s jacket and pressing warm against the sliver of skin between his waistband and his shirt.

“Bedroom,” Simon mutters when he pulls back and looks down at Niall with a suddenly cautious expression - like he’ll say no. 

Niall nods, walking backwards into the living room but letting Simon take the lead there because he’s never been to Simon’s house before and he has no idea where he’s going. It’s decorated nicely for Christmas, all blues and silvers that look classy in his huge living room. There’s a tree in the landing, right between the doors to the kitchen and living room but Niall doesn’t pay attention to it because a moment later Simon has him pressed up against the banister and is sucking on a point just below his ear. 

“Don’t leave a mark,” Niall pants but clutches him closer all the same. Simon laughs into his shoulder, pulling back to walk them up the stairs and guide them into Simon’s bedroom. Niall finds himself spread out across the bed before he gets to even have a look around. Simon crawls on top of him, kissing him hard again and Niall shivers, rolling his hips up and grabbing a handful of Simon’s arse so he has something to grind into. He moans on top of him, shifting until he’s straddling Niall’s thighs and he can help him out of his jacket and shirt. 

“You look so good,” Simon mutters to himself as he trails his lips down Niall’s chest, kissing his skin after he pops each button. Niall shudders under him, arching up to him as he licks over a nipple and sucks it into his mouth. 

“Fuck,” Niall can only mutter, letting his eyes close and a hand rake into Simon’s hair. He pulls him back until they can just breathe into each others mouths and Niall can roll him over. He moves down, tongue lapping over his skin and dipping into his belly button until he can hook his fingers into the waistband of Simon’s bottoms and pull them down over the curve of his arse. 

He’s hard and for some reason Niall feels a little bit relieved that he’s looking down at him like that, with wide eyes and his lip tucked under his lip - like he can't quite believe it either. Niall grins up at him for a moment before ducking down to suck the tip of him into his mouth, swirling his tongue and smiling around his dick when Simon gives out a guttural moan from somewhere at the top of the bed. 

“How’d you get so good at this?” Simon asks him absently and Niall flushes hot under his hand. Simon chuckles, cupping his cheek and running a thumb over the corner of his lip, feeling where they’re stretched around his dick, slippery and hot. Niall bobs his head, hollowing his cheeks and pulling off with a pop. 

He shrugs so it’s a half answer and Simon just smiles at him, asking no more questions. Niall jerks him off a few times, twisting his hand before moving down to suck on one of his balls. Simon sighs above him, rubbing his fingers across Niall’s cheekbone in an action that Niall thinks is incredibly sweet before they sink into his hair and pull him up roughly. 

“I want to fuck you,” Simon breathes against him, tugging him closer so he can kiss him messily. Niall groans into him, rolling over so he can rub against his hip because it’s all getting a bit too much. 

“Yeah,“ Niall growls, biting at his lip and licking along it. Simon laughs into his lips, pushing at his shoulder until he gets the hint and wriggles a hand into the drawer at the right of the bed and he comes back with a bottle of lube and a handful of condoms. 

“That’s optimistic,” Simon says and Niall snorts, dropping them onto the bed beside them and shoving his jeans down his thighs, kicking them off before climbing back into his lap. Simon hums when he settles against him, kissing up his neck to his lips and placing his hands just below his waist, fingertips pressing into the swell of his bum. “You ok with this?” 

It’s quiet and Simon’s smiling at him shyly, eyes raking over Niall’s face hopefully. Niall grins at him, rocking down and nodding as Simon’s breath hitches. 

“Yeah,” he mutters when Simon doesn’t move his hands so Niall reaches for the bottle of lube himself and pops the cap. “You gonna help me?” 

Simon groans making Niall giggle and roll his hips again before reaching a hand back to run a fingertip over himself. 

“Fuck, Niall.” Simon breathes against him, scrambling for the lube. Niall shudders when Simon’s hand appears beside his own, finger rolling around where Niall’s already a knuckle deep in himself before pushing in along side him. 

“Shit,” Niall croaks, reaching up with his free hand to steady himself on Simon’s shoulder. He’s breathing hotly against him and when he turns his head he catches Simon’s awestruck face and feels a roll of heat shoot through his gut. Simon gently bats his hand away, not taking his eyes off his face while replacing Niall’s fingers with his own and allowing Niall to rock back on them. 

“You look - “ Simon cuts off, lurching forward to kiss him properly as Niall mewls into his mouth. 

“Now,” he gasps when they pull apart and Simon‘s fingers are making him shiver but it‘s not enough anymore. “Now, Simon, now.” 

Simon nods, rushing to find a condom from the pile scattered beside them. Niall heaves a breath, moving up on his knees so Simon has room to roll the condom onto himself. 

“Yeah?” Simon asks, hands coming up to grip at one of his hips and the other one wrapping around Niall’s thigh. Niall nods, sinking down carefully. Simon catches his eye and Niall stares at him, mouth dropping open until he’s seated fully in his lap. It’s strange, Niall waited so long to do this and he’s imagined it every which way it could happen but this never once crossed his mind, that Simon would be running a hand over his trembling thigh muscles, breathing warmly against his chin and looking at him so adoringly. 

“Oh God,” Niall whispers and kisses him, rocking against him, grinding his dick into Simon‘s stomach. Simon groans into his mouth and uses his hand on his arse to pull him up and back down again. Niall shivers when a set of fingers wrap around him, sliding up the length of him and twisting in time to the rhythm they’ve developed. 

Niall goes sort of rigid when Simon tightens his hand around Niall’s dick, twisting around the top while he sucks on his bottom lip. Niall has to pull away from him to bury his face into the curve of Simon’s neck, biting down as he comes all over Simon’s fist. Simon tugs on him a few more times before he’s pushing Niall over onto his back and thrusting into him shallowly before he’s coming too. 

Niall fights to catch his breath, staring up at the ceiling as Simon pulls out and flops down onto the mattress beside him. 

“Well,” he croaks and the tone of voice makes Niall shiver yet again. He rolls onto his side, sliding in under Simon’s arm so he can nose at his hair line. Simon grins at him, face open and tender before he presses a kiss to the tip of Niall’s nose. 

“I’m glad you came over,” Simon mutters, voice rough and eyelids already drooping. Niall smiles at him, he feels warm and pleasantly sore, blood still thrumming in his veins and he knows he wouldn’t rather be anywhere else. 

*

It sort of stops when Niall’s out of the country and on tour - like someone’s hit a pause button. Niall quite likes that aspect because it means he can pick up the phone and it’s like the last time they spoke was a day ago and not weeks on end. 

He would be lying if he said that he didn’t miss him. Of course he does. He begins to resent the hours sitting in the back of the bus driving or wasting time answering for the tenth time what he looks for in a girlfriend but when he slips into his hotel room that evening and powers up his computer he can smile at the silly messages Simon’s sent him over Skype while he‘s been away. 

He phones him and shrugs out of his jumper as the dial tone rings out through his room. He’s hopping on one foot to kick off his jeans when it connects and Simon’s face appears on the screen, slightly to the left and a little fuzzy but there all the same. 

“Hey,” Niall grins at his camera and falls back onto the bed to pull his laptop onto his knees. Simon smiles at him and Niall reads the tiredness in his eyes. He’s at home and Niall recognises the curtains in the background from Simon’s bedroom in London. 

“It late there?” Niall asks quietly because he likes the way Simon looks sleepy and softer when he’s ready to go to bed. 

“Yeah,” Simon smiles at him and the screen tilts so Niall can see more of his bare chest and headboard. “Just after two.” 

Niall feels guilty for a moment but then Simon’s just smiling at him and he can’t feel anything except the swelling warmth in his chest. 

“Were you sleeping?” Niall suddenly asks because he doesn’t have the glasses he sometimes uses to read in bed perched on the top of his head. Simon doesn’t answer for a moment and Niall groans, mostly out of the guilt washing back but also because it’s unbelievably sweet that he woke up answer his call. 

“It’s fine,” Simon laughs and his voice sounds deeper with tiredness. “I wasn’t down long, promise.” 

Niall beams at him, pulling his laptop to rest on his chest so he can get as close as he can to the screen. Simon huffs out a laugh that turns into a small yawn that he muffles into the side of his wrist. 

“Go back to sleep.” Niall urges him. Simon pouts at being told what to do but Niall can see the resignation seep into his eyes as he tries to stifle another yawn. 

“I wanted to see your face,” Simon admits quietly and Niall can’t help grinning at him. “It’s quiet without you here. I’m bored with nothing to do.” 

Niall laughs. “You’ve got plenty to do, stop pretending you don’t.” 

Simon smiles, moving about until he’s settled in his pillows and the laptop’s resting beside him where Niall should be lying. Niall finds himself doing the same, tipping onto his side to put the screen on the pillow beside him. Simon blinks at him for a few more moments before letting his eyes drop closed. 

“I’ll see you when you get home yeah?” Simon asks quietly, eyes still closed. Niall grins even though he can’t see him and feels oddly touched that Simon’s being this open with him for once. 

“First person I’ll call,” Niall responds as Simon’s breathing deepens and his shoulders rise further. “Promise.” 

A smile ghosts Simon’s face and stays there until his face starts to slacken with sleep and Niall has to drag himself out of bed to meet the boys for dinner. 

*

Niall keeps to his promise and Simon’s the first person he calls when he gets back to his cold and empty flat. Niall’s wrecked but Simon’s voice is like liquid to his ears and he can’t help pull on his coat again and order a taxi to go and meet him. 

He’s busy though and Niall wants to punch whoever arranged his stupid meeting at half four on a Friday evening. 

“I’ll be at the party tonight,” Simon promises quietly and Niall guesses he isn’t in a completely private place. “I can see you there.” 

“Yeah,” Niall agrees pulling his coat off and wondering if he has any of his suits floating about. They probably need a wash. “We can stay for food and slip off early?” 

Simon chuckles into his ear and Niall finds himself grinning as he kicks open the door to his bedroom. 

“Yeah,” Simon agrees. “And maybe I can get reacquainted with you a bit beforehand?” 

Niall laughs and throws himself onto the bed to listen to him. He feels tired and sore from the day of travelling and wants nothing more to curl up beside Simon and sleep until he feels real again. 

“See you later,” he sighs into the phone and closes his eyes - just to rest them. 

Resting his eyes turns out to be, of course, a three hour long nap which makes Niall late for the start of the dinner, never mind any meeting with Simon beforehand. He pulls on the first decent shirt he finds and arrives just after they’ve served the canapés and are trying to get everyone seated. 

“Niall,” Harry looks at him a little bit bewildered for a moment and then pulls him into a hug. “What are you doing here.” 

“Em,” Niall murmurs because he hadn’t been expecting to see Harry here either. It’s a charity thing for something Simon sponsors and there is very little celebrities attending anyway. Harry of course looks like he’s spent the afternoon being pampered by cherubs or something while Niall’s mouth still feels a little gummy from sleeping with it open. “Got invited.” 

He shrugs it off but Harry just narrows his eyes before sliding into an easy smile as Simon appears at Niall’s elbow. 

“Hello boys,” he grins and Niall feels his palm, warm at the base of his back. Someone passes him a flute of champagne and he sips on it to get some of the dryness out of his mouth. He can’t help rocking back on his heels into the heat of Simon’s hand and he inches closer under the pretence of leaning in to hear Harry’s reply.

“I’ve heard some of the new songs, they sound great,” Simon tells them mostly for Harry’s benefit who’s looking between them with thinly veiled interest. Harry beams at him, sipping on his champagne glass. 

“Yeah it was really fun,” Harry smiles. Niall doesn’t say anything, standing quietly to the side and draining the rest of his glass. Simon laughs at him, eyes going gentle as his hand moves to his circle his wrist. 

“I’ll see you later,” he grins, fingers lingering near his hand before he drops it and disappears into the crowd. Niall doesn’t even have time to let dread build in his gut because Harry’s already lurching forward. 

“Oh my God,” Harry mutters, eyes going wide and his hand clamping around Niall’s elbow. “You two are - “

He cuts off and visibly shudders. Niall spares a moment to be offended by that and shrugs Harry’s hand off. A few other people are milling about so Niall lowers his voice to not draw any extra attention. 

“Look,” Niall starts because he doesn’t really want to lie to him if Harry’s figured it out but he doesn’t want to just blurt it out either. It’s still relatively new, if you count in the months apart and Niall still isn’t sure he isn’t breeching some sort of rule somewhere but Simon didn‘t seem too worried if he knew or not. “I don’t really want to talk about it, it’s just something we’re trying out. It’s not that serious.” 

It feels like he’s lying to himself because even from the corner of his eye he can see Simon off in the distance. Harry’s face contorts into a soft sort of frown that’s more puzzled if anything. Niall just smiles back at him, grabbing two glasses of champagne off a tray and pushing one into his hand. 

“Come on, let’s go and see how many of these people actually know who we are.” 

Harry snorts and moves to follow him but grabs Niall’s hand at the last minute and pulling him in close. 

“Just - just be careful alright?” Harry says quietly before breaking away as if he hadn’t said anything and moving into a tight circle to schmooze the pants off a woman in a set of gaudy pearls. Niall doesn’t waste the time trying to work out Harry’s hidden meaning and allows his shoulders to relax, mind half on the conversation around him and half on deciding where the nearest cupboard is so he can shove Simon into it.

He finds one when he’s wandering back from the toilets. He goes back to the table and walks straight past Harry and the little group he’s got talking until he can get near enough to Simon’s table to catch his eye. He raises his eyebrows and turns on his heel to walk back out, this time at a slower pace until by the time he’s made it to the little door of the store room to the side of the toilets Simon’s caught up with him.

“Are you serious?” he laughs but pushes Niall into the room all the same. It’s tiny and the light is swinging precariously from the ceiling but Niall doesn’t care how crampt it is as he turns on rubs his chest against Simon’s.

“You never wanted to do something like this?” Niall laughs as Simon backs him up into a shelf stacked high with brown boxes. 

“Yeah,” his voice has turned breathy and Niall can see the amusement in his eyes even though he’s not really smiling anymore. He leans in and catches him in a kiss that makes him quickly lose his breath. 

“I’ve been waiting for this all day,” he mutters against Niall’s lips and kisses him again. Niall sinks into it, running a hand up Simon’s back until he can get a handful of the dinner jacket he’s wearing to pull him closer. 

“All week,” Niall murmurs when they pull back to breathe. Simon smirks at him, leaning into him and pressing him back against the shelf again. He has a hand scrunched in the back of Niall’s hair, tugging him closer as he licks at the seam of Niall’s lip and runs his tongue over his teeth. 

Niall’s already hard and he can’t help canting his hips a little until he can press against Simon and see if is he too. Simon gasps against him, grinding in closer until Niall can’t stop the whimper escaping his mouth into Simon’s from the friction. 

“Please,” he whispers when Simon pulls back to mouth down his jaw. He has his head cradled in his hands and when he glances back he looks very wide eyed to Niall. 

“Of course,” he mutters, lowering a hand until he can tug Niall’s fly open and slip his fingers in. Niall groans when he feels them, curling around him hotly before giving him a gentle squeeze. 

“Missed you,” Niall can’t help himself but Simon’s just nodding, rubbing against his hip in time with his hand and pressing his lips to the corner of Niall’s mouth. Niall drops his jaw to kiss him properly, sucking on his tongue as he rocks forward and comes quickly over himself. Simon chuckles, fishing about for the pocket square in his jacket to help him clean up before slipping his hand into his own trousers. 

“No,” Niall whines, dropping to his knees once he’s zipped himself up and he can mouth along the line of Simon’s dick in his boxers. Simon groans, gripping one of the shelves for dear life and his other hand moving to pet at Niall’s head. Niall sucks him down quickly, licking teasingly up the underside of him and twisting his hand where he can’t quite reach until it doesn’t take long that Simon’s spilling into his mouth. 

“We need to get back,” Simon breathes shallowly and hauls Niall back onto his feet. He reaches forward with his thumb, rubbing gently where a drop of come had dribbled down his chin. Niall smiled at him, groaning when Simon sucks his thumb into his mouth to taste himself. 

“You can’t do that and expect me to go and sit through a whole dinner,” Niall complains, already feeling blood rushing south again. Simon raises his eyebrows at him, buckling his belt and leaning to kiss him sweetly. 

“Only an hour and then we can grab a car and you can have me all to yourself.” 

Niall can’t help but sigh, kissing him again and patting down his hair at the back. They slip out of the room separately as if it would make a difference and when Niall gets back to the table Harry has an expression on his face that’s half impressed, half revolted. 

*

It’s a totally different ball game when it’s Niall that’s in London with little to distract him and Simon off in LA doing the final few episodes of the X Factor. He lies at the back of the studio and waits for the clock to hit four o’clock so he can Skype Simon and watch him eat his breakfast. It’s the only time he gets to himself, the rest of his spare time he’s on the phone to his office or someone’s plastering face with make up. He tells Niall about as much of his day as he can through spoonfuls of granola before he’s smiling sleepily at him and telling him to have a nice day. 

The boys all laugh at him because Harry’s blabbed and they take every opportunity to giggle at him. But Niall doesn’t really mind, none of them are able to keep a secret from each other and it’s a miracle it stayed quiet for as long as it did and he knows the boys mean no harm. They hang around and listen to him mope about missing him and when he slides off to find his laptop they all slip out of the room with small kind smiles of understanding. Niall appreciates it because when he hangs up with Simon, one of them always slips through the door so he can cuddle them until they’re called back to rehearse. 

They get to LA late so Niall just goes straight to the hotel and sleeps off his impending jetlag. They’re recording for the show in the afternoon and the studio is half full of screaming girls. Niall’s pumped even though it’s half one in the afternoon, jumping about with the rest of the boys as if they were going out live that night. He’s half way through the middle chorus when he catches Simon’s eye from where he’s standing at the side of the crowd, not behind his table but grinning along anyway. He nearly falters because he still gets nervous performing in front of people that’s important to him but Zayn wraps an arm around his neck and he forgets about, going into the harmony and bouncing across the stage. 

Simon catches him once he’s done, pulling him into the shadows amidst cat calls that sound suspiciously like Louis. He trails them down a spider web of corridors until he can pull him into his dressing room. It looks nice, just like the one from when he was on X Factor back in England and Niall would sit here nervously after the show on Saturday and listen to Simon talk about their performance. 

“Don’t you have to get ready?” Niall laughs into Simon’s mouth when he gets an arm around his waist to kiss him. 

“Yeah,” Simon laughs back, sucking on his bottom lip and pressing him against the wall. Niall kisses back for a moment, revelling in the way Simon’s hand is flexing at the back of his neck and the other is cradling his jaw like that. Niall’s fingers clutch at his hip but he knows they don’t have time for anything. 

“I fly back in the morning,” Niall pouts when Simon’s pulls away to mouth down his throat instead. Simon pauses, licking over the spot where’s nibbled on and going back to pepper his lips with tiny sweet kisses. 

“No you don‘t,” Simon murmurs against chin and smiles shyly up at him. Niall feels his chest tighten and his stomach clench. “I booked you a different flight.“ He can’t help mirror his smile so he presses it to Simon’s lips and let him pry them apart with his tongue. 

“That’s -” Niall smiles, pulling back to rest his head against as the door as Simon works his fingers into the fabric of his t-shirt. “Perfect.” 

“Hmm,” Simon laughs and peers at him with crinkled eyes. Niall feel a flutter of excitement at the prospect of a few days with Simon all to himself to do whatever they want and pulls him back to kiss him as he starts to think up how he can spend the next few days. 

*

Niall could get used to this. 

Simon‘s mansion in Beverley Hills is not unlike his one in London. It‘s decorated similarly but the huge sprawling windows look out onto a sunny view and not one of the dreary London skyline. 

He wakes up at noon, balled in Simon’s blankets and wonders absently why he isn’t sprawled out beside him. It’s nearly Christmas and Niall should really be getting a flight home and finishing his Christmas shopping but he keeps pushing his flight back because Simon’s house is lovely and he lets him eat fancy five star Thai food in bed for breakfast and Simon’s _here_.

Except he’s not anywhere in the bedroom, which isn’t really odd but the past few mornings Simon would potter in when it reaches lunch time to press up against him and kiss down his ribcage until he’s awake enough to pull him up to kiss him back.

Niall’s disappointed he didn’t get the same wakeup call this time around and drags himself out of bed. The sun is high and it’s hardly cold but he pulls on Simon’s old dressing gown because it smells of him and trudges down the stairs. 

“Oh you’re up,” he smiles softly at him, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth and going back to zipping up the suitcase in front of him. Niall smiles at him, working the crust out of his eye with his other knuckle. 

“What are you packing for?” Niall asks and then clears his throat because he feels groggy with sleep still. Simon looks up at him and frowns slightly. 

“St. Barts,” he says slowly. “I told you about it the other day.”  
Niall stands still for a moment and flickers back to when they had been lying in bed and Niall had been much more interested in sucking Simon off than listening to him blabber on about his holiday. 

“Oh,” Niall mutters and Simon stands up straight, frown deepening. 

“I did tell you didn’t I?” 

“Yeah.” Niall nods and clears his throat again. 

It had all been going so well that Niall had sort of been making himself at home in Simon’s, both here and when he‘s in London. He supposes it made him complacent because at the back of his mind he had always assumed that Simon was going to invite him along. He walks into the kitchen and Simon follows him, back straight and lost expression on his face. 

“Are you annoyed?” he asks watching as Niall boils the kettle and starts searching for bread to make toast.

“Nope.” Niall shakes his head and is aware he’s acting childish but he stubbornly doesn’t look round at him. 

“Niall?” Simon asks again but his voice sort of trails off. Niall shakes his head before plastering a fake smile onto his face and turning to him. 

“I just forgot you would be going away today,” he tells him with a fake brightness as the kettle bubbles behind him. Simon watches him carefully before nodding and taking it as permission to move across the kitchen and kiss him gently. 

 

“It’s only for a few weeks,” Simon smiles, cradling his jaw in a way that makes Niall’s shoulders fall and he nearly melts into him. It’s so hard to be angry at him when he’s being sweet like this. “Then you can see me when you guys come to LA again.” 

Niall nods, moving in to clutch at Simon’s shirt so he can kiss him one last time. 

“Have a good time,” he murmurs against his lips and Simon grins at him, eyes softening as he pulls away. 

“Don’t miss your flight back to London,” Simon reminds him, kissing him again once on the end of his nose. 

And then he’s gone, leaving Niall to make his tea in a suddenly empty house. 

*

"No I can't just hop over to St. Barts," Harry huffs and Niall can hear him shuffling about on the other side of the phone. He has no idea what time it is in the Virgin Islands but Harry hadn't sounded like he had been sleeping anyway. 

It’s been a week and Christmas has came and gone. Niall’s back in London via Ireland with nothing to do and he’s slowly going stir mad without anybody to distract with him the fact that Simon is on the other side of the world, lounging on his yacht with half of his ex girlfriends on tow. 

A few newspapers are sprawled out over his kitchen table and he catches a glimpse of him, reclined on the back of his ridiculous boat with all these women gathered around him. Niall thinks bitterly that he's wearing ridiculous shorts and he instantly hates all the reporters that are calling his boat a _girlfriend paradise_. He knows he’s being silly but the headlines about his harem of women are beginning to make his stomach hurt. 

"Why not? It's much closer to you than me. You’re a rubbish best friend.” 

Harry laughs on the other end of the phone, “what do you expect me to do? Fly over and grovel for you?” 

“I’m not grovelling,” Niall interrupts. 

“Ok, you want me to make the big romantic gesture on your behalf? Because you can’t be bothered to jump on a plane?” Harry snorts and Niall can hear him shift about again.  
“Anyway, I have my own hot tub full of old men to service.” 

Niall pulls a face because he definitely doesn’t need to hear what Harry’s up to and also, Simon isn’t old, he’s mature thank you very much. 

"You're really upset about this aren't you?” Harry asks suddenly very quietly and the air sort of leaves Niall's lungs in a whoosh. 

"Yeah," he murmurs and scratches the back of his head nervously, he can feel his cheeks heating up and he doesn't know why but he turns his back on the mirror so he doesn't have to watch his face screw up awkwardly. "Maybe it's getting to me a bit more that I've let on." 

Harry sighs and it rattles down the phone and into Niall's ear. He wishes that Harry was with him so he could give him a hug, but if he's being granted wishes there's someone else he would much rather prefer.

"Well," Harry murmurs. "There's only one thing you can really do." 

"What?" Niall asks even though his gut is twisting because he can nearly predict what Harry's going to say. 

"Tell him," he can tell Harry's smiling when he's saying it. "Jump on a plane and go get your man!" 

Niall giggles nervously at first but he's already thinking of which airport is closer to his house and what suitcase he's going to bring. 

"Ok," Niall grins into his phone and ducks his head shyly to himself. "I guess I'm going to the Caribbean?" 

Harry yells out in glee so loudly that Niall has to pull his phone away from his ear. He laughs elatedly back before listening to Harry settle down. 

"I'm sure you'll not need me but I'm close by if it all goes pear shaped," Harry tells him quietly, suddenly serious compared to his earlier laughter. "Ok? Right, I'm going back to my hot tub." 

Niall laughs, stomach fluttering as he hangs up the phone and wrenches open the doors to his wardrobe to start packing. 

*

It's absolutely boiling and Niall can never get used to the heat even though he's travelled all over the world by now. Anyway, it’s _January_ for fucks sake. He pulls at the t-shirt he's wearing and walks over the slippery pier. It’s late morning and the sun is already high in the sky. It’s sort of loud, which Niall hadn’t been expecting but there’s a busy beach to his left and a full dock of fancy white yachts all anchored full of holidaying friends.

It’s easy to find Simon’s boat. It’s fucking huge and dwarves the rest of them. It’s floating a few yards out from the pier and Niall swallows because it’s easy to see people milling about just inside. He recognises a few faces but can’t place their names until Sinitta spots him and nearly drops the glass of mimosa she’s sipping out of. 

Niall raises his hand, fingers wriggling and he’s acutely aware of how the bridge of his nose is already burning and the slick sweat of his shirt sticking to him. She disappears for a moment and Niall wants to turn, run back down the pier and find a hotel to hide in until he can get a flight back home. He doesn’t though, feet rooted to the spot as Simon appears in the doorway of the yacht and laughs loud enough for Niall to hear on the pier. 

“What are you doing here?” Niall assumes he calls over because he’s too far away. Niall’s mouth isn’t working very well anyway because the people in the boat next to him are starting to look at him and he just wants to be on the boat and out of the sun. 

It takes a surprisingly long time for the yacht to dock and Niall loiters about until he can walk across the dodgy gangway to see Simon’s slightly bewildered but amused face in front of him. 

“What are you doing here?” he repeats and Niall’s aware of Sinetta disappearing into the back and all the staff belonging to the yacht making themselves invisible. 

“I wanted to come,” Niall blurts out and wishes he had thought of something grand and romantic like Harry had suggested. It’s too intimidating now that he’s here and Simon’s nearest and dearest are a few feet away pretending to soak up the sun and not listen in. Simon raises his eyebrows and Niall flushes but it hardly makes a difference on his sun blushed skin. “No - “ he corrects himself and deciding to go for honesty. “I was going mad in London while you’re out here. I miss you all the time and we never get enough time together as it is - “

“And I piss off on holiday for three weeks?” Simon offers bluntly and Niall finds himself nodding. He drops his backpack because his shoulder is sticky and flaps the front of his shirt before finally looking up to meet Simon’s gaze, squinting in the sun. 

“It’s fucking _hot_.” Niall complains and Simon laughs once and loudly before he pulls Niall by the elbow into the shadows of the doorway of the cabin.

“I miss you too,” Simon tells him suddenly seriously, pushing his finger below his chin to pull Niall up to meet his eye line. “I wanted you to come but we always get lots of paparazzi and they normally know exactly who’s on the trip because it’s the same people every year and I wasn’t sure if you wanted people to know yet.” 

Niall swallows, he’s not really sure if he wants everyone know either. That sounds kind of scary but Simon is looking at him with his big eyes and Niall knows that in the end, he just wants him. 

“I guess I answered that when I got on a plane didn’t I?” Niall offers as an explanation and Simon stares at him for a long moment before leaning in and kissing him soundly on the lips. He tastes of rum already but it’s coupled with something sweet and Niall wants to lick all of the taste out of his mouth. He doesn’t though, pulling back a quarter of an inch instead and they breathe each others air for a moment. Somewhere, in the back of his mind he’s having a mild freak out that they’ve finally made this into something more serious but the majority of him just wants to push Simon into the floaty curtains and fuck him against a window with the view of the crystal clear water in the background. 

“This means you’ll have to meet my mother you know?” Simon tells him with a slightly sadistic smirk. Niall’s face falls and his stomach turns over because he definitely doesn’t want to fuck Simon against a window if his mother is floating about. 

Simon laughs, linking their hands together and tugging him towards where his group of friends have gathered on the back deck. Niall follows him in a daze, hoping that the light headedness is something to do with the way Simon’s thumb is rubbing over his knuckles and clutching him tightly. But he knows that it's more likely to be sunstroke. 

*

Niall’s on the front page of the Daily Mail the next morning and Simon is behind him, slathering sun cream over his already red raw shoulders. The photo’s caught him mid laugh at something Mezghan has said and his hand is hooked around Simon’s ankle from where he’s sitting between his spread thighs. 

Niall doesn’t really mind the headline this time.


End file.
